Container-dispenser for cosmetics

ABSTRACT

A container-dispenser for cosmetics in solid stick form such as lip salves, the container being of the kind comprising a tubular body, an internally threaded follower slideably and nonrotatably fitted within the body, and a knob actuated screw-threaded spindle engaging the follower to effect sliding of the follower. The follower is formed as a double ended cup for assembly with the spindle either way round, the assembly being inserted into the container body so that a shoulder on the knob snaps past a retaining rib on the body. The follower is provided with a continuous ring of grooves on its periphery at least one of which tends to be aligned with a longitudinal rib in the body on assembly and a thin annular flange, pierced on assembly by the rib on the body, acts as a sliding seal between the follower and the body.

United States Patent [72] inventors [54] CONTAINER-DISPENSER FORCOSMETICS Michael Barney;

Jack Raymond Green, both of Leed 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl... [51] int. Cl [50] Field of Search References CitedFOREIGN PATENTS 11/1968 Canada 599,700 ll/l957 Italy 401/75 PrimaryExaminer- Lawrence Charles Attorneys-Louis F. Kline, Jr., Melvin H.Kurtz and Edgar E.

Ruff

ABSTRACT: A container-dispenser for cosmetics in solid stick form suchas lip salves, the container being of the kind comprising a tubularbody, an internally threaded follower slideably and nonrotatably fittedwithin the body, and a knob actuated screw-threaded spindle engaging thefollower to ef fect sliding of the follower. The follower is formed as adouble ended cup for assembly with the spindle either way round, theassembly being inserted into the container body so that a shoulder onthe knob snaps past a retaining rib on the body. The follower isprovided with a continuous ring of grooves on its periphery at least oneof which tends to be aligned with a longitudinal rib in the body onassembly and a thin annular flange, pierced on assembly by the rib onthe body, acts as a 401/75 sliding seal between the follower and thebody.

/f i v0 i I i /9 /f l l PATENTED JUH29 l9?! INVENTORS I X/dQ/XK? MICHAELBARNEY and JACK RAYMOND GREEN THEIR ATTORNEY CONTAINER-DISPENSER FORCOSMETICS This invention relates to container-dispensers for cosmeticsin solid stick form such as lip salves and concerns containerdispensersof. the kind comprising a tubular body having an opening at each end, aninternally threaded follower slideably and nonrotatably fitted withinthe body, and a knob-actuated, screw-threaded spindle engaging thefollower to effect sliding of the follower.

The usual method of providing for the follower which carries the solidstick to be slideable and nonrotatable in the tubular body is to provideone of them with a longitudinal rib and the other with a complementarygroove. Difficulty arises during assembly because of the need to alignthe rib and groove.

The follower is conventionally of cuplike form to carrythe solid stickof cosmetic, which is fed into the assembled container in melted liquidform to solidify in situ, and it is therefore also possible to assemblethe follower wrong way round on the screw-threaded spindle.

The object of the invention is to provide a containerdispenser of thekind specified in which the above-mentioned disadvantages are avoided.

According to the invention there is provided a containerdispensercomprising a tubular body having an opening at both ends, an internallythreaded follower slideably fitted within the body, the outer peripheryof the follower having a continuous ring of alternate adjacent ribs andgrooves at least one of the grooves aligning with a complementary rib onthe body to prevent rotation of the follower within the body, and aknob-actuated screw-threaded spindle engaging the follower to effectlongitudinal sliding of the follower within the body. Because of thenumber of grooves on the follower, one of the grooves tends to bealigned with a complementary rib of the container body, when the two arebrought together for as sembly, whatever their relative rotationalpositions.

The grooves and ribs are preferably of Vee-shape in cross section sothat the maximum number of grooves can be provided for possibleengagement with the complementary longitudinal rib without undulyreducing the width of the rib where it joins the tubular body. I

ln a further feature of the invention, the follower is formed with arelatively thin external integral annular flange which acts as a slidingseal with the inner wall of the container body, which flange is thinenough to be pierced by the rib on the container body entering one ofthe grooves of the follower when the two are assembled together.

Further according to the invention the follower is in the form of adouble-ended cup, both ends being open and an inner transverse centralpartition wall being provided, so that the follower can be assembled tothe screw-threaded spindle either way round. With this reversibledouble-ended follower the external annular flange is preferably locatedcentrally of the length of the follower.

Referring to the drawings, the container body is tubular and open atboth ends, the mouth end being closable by the slide-on cap 11, the bodypreferably being moulded from polystyrene and the cap frompolypropylene. The internal surface of the body 10 is generallycylindrical, and is formed with a longitudinal rib 12 the ends of whichare spaced from the ends of the body 10. At the opposite end to themouth end the body 10 is formed with an internal annular retaining ribl3, seem most clearly in FIG. 4.

The spindle and follower assembly comprises an externally threadedspindle 14 extending axially within the body 10 and having an integralrotatable actuating knob 15 which lies partly outside the body 10 forrotating the spindle 14, the periphery of the knob being serrated at 16.The knob 15 has an external annular shoulder adapted to snap pasttheinternal annular retaining rib 13 of the body 10. The spindle l4 andintegral knob 15 preferably are moulded from polypropylene.

The follower 18 is moulded from softer material such as low densitypolyethylene and is open at both ends to be in the form of adouble-ended cup having an axially central threaded bore In a stillfurther feature of the invention the knob which carries thescrew-threaded spindle is provided with an external annular shoulderadapted to snap past an internal annular retaining rib at one end of thetubular body, so that the assembly of the follower with the spindle andactuating knob can be inserted as a unit from said one end of thetubular body, and without regard to their relative rotational positions.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional side elevation to an enlarged scale of acontainer-dispenser constructed according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the container-dispenser shown in FIG. 1, to afurther enlarged scale and with the cap removed.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the follower.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view to a further enlarged scale,showing a detail of construction of the body and the actuating knob.

to receive the spindle 14,.the cuplike recesses 19 at each end beingseparated from one another by an inner central transverse partition wall20. The inner walls of the cuplike recesses 19 have annular grooves 21for a cosmetic stick to key into.

The follower 18 has its outer periphery formed with a continuous ring ofalternate adjacent ribs 22 and grooves 23 (H08. 2 and 3), preferably ofVee-shape as is the complementary rib 12 in the body 10.

The follower 18 is also provided with a relatively thin externalintegral flange 24, which in this embodiment involving a double-endedreversible follower is located centrally of the length of the follower18. The flange 24 is thin enough to be pierced by the rib-l2 on thecontainer body entering one of the grooves 23 of the follower.

The container body 10 is inverted and stands mouth-end down in a mouldto be filled with melted cosmetic such as lip salve.

The follower 18 is screwed onto'the spindle 18 of the knobspindle unit,and since the follower 18 is reversible it does not matter which end ofthe follower leads as it is screwed on the spindle. Without any need forrotational orientation the follower and spindle assembly is pushed downinto the upwardly presented open end of the body 10. The soft followerl8 readily passes the annular rib 13 at this end of the body 10, and theshoulder 17 of the knob 15 snaps past the rib 13 so that the knob andspindle unit is rotatably retained mounted in the body 10.

The follower 18 is forced into the melted cosmetic in the body 10, thecosmetic entering one of the cuplike recesses 19 of the follower, andbeing keyed therein, when it solidifies, by the annular grooves 21. Asthe follower 18 enters the body 10, one or other of the longitudinalgrooves 23 in its periphery is more or less aligned with thelongitudinal rib 12 on the inner wall of the body 10, without any needfor more than the minimum of rotational orientation, and as therespective groove 23 slides along the rib 12 the latter pierces the thinflange 24 on the follower, but only where said flange 24 is opposite therib 12. The remainder of the flange 24 is thus unbroken, and acts as asliding seal, a very important function if the cosmetic materialcontains a volatile component.

It is advantageous to form a vent hole, indicated at 25 in FIG. 2, inthe transverse partition wall 20 of the follower 18, both for escape ofany air trapped before the follower during its insertion into the meltedcosmetic material and as an overflow route for any excess material.

It will be seen that the invention provides a containerdispenser forcosmetics in solid-stick form in which many disadvantages are overcome,especially as regards ease of assembly and with the possibility ofassembly errors practically eliminated. The feature of the followerbeing provided with a ring of adjacent ribs and grooves can be employedwith a cuplike follower which is not double-ended and reversible, asalso can the feature of providing a thin external annual sliding sealflange on the grooved and ribbed follower, and it is obvious that theinner wall of the body can have more than one longitudinal rib, forexample two opposed ribs'can be employed.

What we claim is:

1. In a container-dispenser comprising a tubular body having an innerwall, an internal longitudinal rib formed on the inner wall, anactuating knob rotatably mounted at one end of the body, ascrew-threaded spindle extending from the actuating knob to within thebody, and a follower slideably and nonrotatably fitted within the body,the screw-threaded spindle engaging with the follower to effectlongitudinal sliding of the follower within the body, the improvementcomprising the outer wall of the follower defines a continuous ring ofalternate adjacent ribs and grooves, one of the grooves engaging withthe longitudinal rib on the body to prevent rotation of the 4. In acontainer-dispenser comprising a tubular body. said body having aninternal surface formed with an internal inwardly projectinglongitudinal rib, a follower fitted within the body and slideable in thelongitudinal direction, the outer wall of the follower defining a grooveengaging with the longitudinal rib to prevent rotation of the followerwithin the body,

an internal screw thread formed centrally in the follower, an

externally threaded spindle engaging with the internal thread of thefollower, and a rotatable knob at one end of the spindle for rotatingthe spindle to effect said longitudinal sliding of the follower, theimprovement comprising the longitudinal rib is of Vee-shape crosssection having sidewalls which are inwardly inclined to meet at theinnermost edge of the rib, the outer wall of the follower defining acontinuous ring of adjacent complementary grooves.

5. A container-dispenser according to claim 4 in which one end of thebody is formed with an internal annular retaining rib and the rotatableknob is formed with an external annular shoulder, the diameter of theinternal annular rib being greater than the diameter of the follower sothat the follower and spindle can be inserted through that end of thebody and the annular shoulder of the rotatable knob snapped past theinternal rib so that the knob closes that end of the tubular body.

1. In a container-dispenser comprising a tubular body having an innerwall, an internal longitudinal rib formed on the inner wall, anactuating knob rotatably mounted at one end of the body, ascrew-threaded spindle extending from the actuating knob to within thebody, and a follower slideably and nonrotatably fitted within the body,the screw-threaded spindle engaging with the follower to effectlongitudinal sliding of the follower within the body, the improvementcomprising the outer wall of the follower defines a continuous ring ofalternate adjacent ribs and grooves, one of the grooves engaging withthe longitudinal rib on the body to prevent rotation of the followerwithin the body.
 2. A container-dispenser according to claim 1 includinga thin external integral annular flange on the follower which acts as asliding seal with the inner wall of the body and is thin enough to bepierced by the longitudinal rib when the follower is assembled with thebody.
 3. A container-dispenser according to claim 2 in which thefollower is open at both ends, an inner transverse central partitiondividing the follower to form a double ended cup.
 4. In acontainer-dispenser comprising a tubular body, said body having aninternal surface formed with an internal inwardly projectinglongitudinal rib, a follower fitted within the body and slideable in thelongitudinal direction, the outer wall of the follower defining a grooveengaging with the longitudinal rib to prevent rotation of the followerwithin the body, an internal screw thread formed centrally in thefollower, an externally threaded spindle engaging with the internalthread of the follower, and a rotatable knob at one end of the spindlefor rotating the spindle to effect said longitudinal sliding of thefollower, the improvement comprising the longitudinal rib is ofVee-shape cross section having sidewalls which are inwardly inclined tomeet at the innermost edge of the rib, the outer wall of the followerdefining a continuous ring of adjacent complementary grooves.
 5. Acontainer-dispenser according to claim 4 in which one end of the body isformed with an internal annular retaining rib and the rotatable knob isformed with an external annular shoulder, the diameter of the internalannular rib being greater than the diameter Of the follower so that thefollower and spindle can be inserted through that end of the body andthe annular shoulder of the rotatable knob snapped past the internal ribso that the knob closes that end of the tubular body.